Use of grafted vegetables to minimize toxic chemical usage and damage to plant growth and yield quality under irrigation with marginal water

Grafting of vegetables to resistant rootstocks facilitates high quality crop production without the need to disinfest the soil with toxic chemicals. A number of studies have shown that grafted plants are more resistant to soil-borne diseases such as Fusarium wilt. Likewise, grafting of Cucurbita scions onto Lagenaria rootstocks can increase the resistance of the scion to carmine spider mite (Tetranychus cinnabarinus). Other studies have found that grafting melon onto Cucurbita rootstock decreased boron uptake by the grafted plants and reduced the effects of high boron concentrations in the water on fruit yield and quality under saline and effluent irrigation. Grafting appears to offer an environmentally acceptable alternative to methyl bromide application and the cultivation of vegetables with saline water or effluents.